page_title: Cleveland Cavaliers
section_title: Home arenas
hierarchical_section_title: Cleveland Cavaliers / Home arenas
caption_attribution_description: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
context_page_description: The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team began play as an expansion team in 1970, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves. Home games were first held at Cleveland Arena from 1970 to 1974, followed by the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1994. Since 1994, the Cavs have played home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland, which is shared with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Dan Gilbert has owned the team since March 2005.
  The Cavaliers opened their inaugural season losing their first 15 games and struggled in their early years, placing no better than sixth in the Eastern Conference during their first five seasons. The team won their first Central Division title in 1976, which also marked the first winning season and playoff appearance in franchise history, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The franchise was purchased by Ted Stepien in 1980.
context_section_description: Cleveland Arena (1970–1974)
  Richfield Coliseum (1974–1994)
  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (1994–present)
caption: Scene of the 2017–18 season opener in then Quicken Loans Arena
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